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Ah, the quintessential American cookie. Who doesn’t love a nice, warm chocolate chip cookie straight from the oven? Nobody, that’s who, and this is a great example of the versatility and utility of the flax egg discussed in the first entry here on S+S. This is just a modified take on the classic chocolate chip cookie recipe found in the Joy of Cooking, the book I grew up cooking and baking with thanks to my mother. There are tons of (vegan) chocolate chip cookie recipes out there, but I’ve found that you don’t need to change up much once you find a good plant-based substitute. Let’s get baking.

Preheat oven to 375 F. Put the coconut oil (room-temperature) and sugars in your stand mixer and combine, then add the flax egg, water and vanilla.

Add the salt and baking soda and mix, then half of the flour at a time. Don't over-mix or your dough will get too stiff!

Add the chocolate chips/chunks and mix slightly with the mixer or a wooden spoon; I prefer chunks as they seem to hold the cookie together better than dairy-free chips, but I'm not a huge fan of full chunks, so I chop them a little. I know, I'm the weird one.

Classic chocolate chip cookies veganized by the Spoon + Shovel

Classic chocolate chip cookies veganized by the Spoon + Shovel

Place heaping spoonfuls spaced a few inches apart on cookie sheets and press down a bit for a flatter, more evenly-baked cookie; I like lining my sheets with parchment to keep the bottom of my cookies from over-baking, but for less-sticky recipes like this, parchment isn't a necessity. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until evenly golden brown, then remove from oven, let sit for a few minutes, then transferred to a cooling rack.

I made these with a gluten-free/nut-free flour mix, as my friend Joe is celiac and doesn’t get homemade cookies very often, and his sister is allergic to nuts. I often use regular unbleached white flour and add chopped walnuts to the dough, and they hold together just fine with any of these combinations. The one thing to consider with GF flour is that it doesn’t fluff up quite as readily as traditional flour, so adjust expectations accordingly.